I started a patreon last year when I revamped my business. I was nervous, but it ended up being exactly what I needed. So let’s talk about it!⁠

Making a living writing knitting patterns is…tricky.

There are rather a lot of people who think patterns should be free or at least dirt cheap (yet somehow still expect professionally produced patterns which take a tremendous amount of time & skill & camera gear & fancy software to create). Not you folks! I decided early on I was absolutely not going to try to appeal to people who felt that way and set my prices accordingly. So if you’re here, I’m pretty sure you’re not one of those people!

But even if you price your work fairly and completely give up on trying to appeal to that crowd, this is still a tricky field. For a while, I was trying to produce two patterns a month. That was the pace I needed to keep to have this be my job. That meant two weeks to come up with something then knit, write, test, edit, photograph, release, & promote it.

That proved…unsustainable.

Even when it was (sorta, kinda) working, it meant I had to race through patterns as fast as possible. There was absolutely no time to explore or play or try new things.

Patreon changed that!

Patreon means that folks who like what I do (the pretty pictures I post here, the useful knitting bits, the community supported pattern program, the shouty political stuff) and want me to be able to keep doing it can subscribe and help that happen. And folks who want to see what happens when I have time to really explore an idea can subscribe and get those explorations. And the folks who want all the patterns as they come out can subscribe and get those too.

It gives me space and time to do the work I like best.

It gives the folks who subscribe access to that work.

And it gives the folks who follow me here, even if they never subscribe or buy a pattern, more to look at (because making the things I share here takes a heck of a lot of time, and patrons make sure I have that time).

It’s been a wonderful experiment. I have So Damn Many Ideas these days, which feels really lovely. I can’t wait to see what we do next. I’d be delighted if you’d join us!